New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on New Jersey Resources from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.75.

New Jersey Resources Price Performance

NYSE:NJR opened at $51.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.59. New Jersey Resources has a 1 year low of $39.44 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. New Jersey Resources’s payout ratio is currently 61.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 618,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,430,000 after acquiring an additional 176,396 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 192.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 255,503 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 4,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 83,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 81,866 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of New Jersey Resources by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,284,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,889,000 after acquiring an additional 40,094 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 155,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About New Jersey Resources

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets.